Monday, November 30, 2009

bush let bin Laden go

But will this make news in the US?

Well what do you know... it is now official that Osama bin Laden was allowed to walk free from Tora Bora into Pakistan in December of 2001.

Al-Qaeda head Osama Bin Laden was 'within grasp' of US

US forces had Osama Bin Laden "within their grasp" in Afghanistan in late 2001, a US Senate report says.It says calls for US reinforcements were rejected, allowing the al-Qaeda leader to "walk unmolested" into Pakistan's unregulated tribal areas.The report was prepared by the Foreign Relations Committee Democratic staff.It says the failure to kill or capture Bin Laden had far-reaching consequences and laid the foundation for the protracted Afghan insurgency.


(Blondsense)

but repugs won't let a little thing like facts get in the way of their lies, smears and general opposition

I thought that repugs believed in law and order

and why did Obama ever give this guy the time of day?

Rick Warren Refuses To Condemn Proposed Ugandan Law To Execute Gays
(Huffington Post)
---
I think the fact that Obama had this bigot give the invocation at his inauguration is far more controversial that Obama's relationship with Wright.

I guess that someone really does have a "war on Xmas"

Police: Christmas-Hating Man Stole Salvation Army Kettle
'I Hate Your Bell-Ringing'
(Huffington Post)
---
In a way, I understand this, though this reaction is a little extreme!

gawd help us all!

Gonzales inspires students to ‘dream big’ and hope to meet ‘the next George W. Bush’ one day.
(Think Progress)
---
What a frightening thought! Another GWB? We barely survived the original!

repugs would rather kill people than save people

even repugs don't like cheney

Just one person in Washington Post poll says Cheney best reflects conservative principles.

Two new polls report that former Alaska governor Sarah Palin and right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh are the most powerful conservatives in the country. According to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair survey, 26 percent of Americans rate Limbaugh as the most influential conservative voice, followed by Fox News host Glenn Beck at 11 percent. In a Washington Post poll, a plurality of Republicans say Palin best reflects their “party’s core values,” and they would vote for her “if the presidential nomination battle were held today.” Two people who don’t fare as well in the Post poll are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney:

Just 1 percent pick George W. Bush as the best reflection of the party’s principles, and only a single person in the poll cites former vice president Richard B. Cheney. About seven in 10 say Bush bears at least “some” of the blame for the party’s problems.

The Post surveyed 804 “Republicans and Republican-leaning nonpartisans” for its sample. Palin is particularly popular amongst the “loyal followers of Limbaugh and Beck.” “Overall, 18 percent of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents cited her as the person most representative of the party’s core values. … Among those who regularly listen to Limbaugh, however, Palin was cited by 48 percent, and among Beck’s viewers, it was 35 percent, far surpassing others.”


(Think Progress)

didn't she have fact-checkers for her book?

And finally: In her new book, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin says she’s quoting Hall of Fame basketball coach John Wooden with this line: “I will tell you one
of the things we remember on our land
. We remember our grandfathers paid for it — with their lives.” But the phrase actually belongs to Cheyenne warrior John Wooden Legs, who adds in his essay: “My people and the Sioux defeated General Custer at the Little Big Horn.” Probably not what Palin was trying to convey.

(Think Progress)
---
How can anyone seriously be this clueless?

plans for ending the Afghan war?

President Obama plans to lay out a time frame for drawing down the American involvement in the war in Afghanistan when he announces his decision this week to send more forces. A senior administration official said, “He wants to give a clear sense of both the time frame for action and how the war will eventually wind down.”

(Think Progress)
---
It's hard to even remember a time when we weren't at war and even harder to imagine a time when we are no longer at war...

Blair was told the Iraq War was illegal but sided with Bush anyway

yeah, it couldn't be that they actually care about our security and prosperity

oh that "liberal media"!

7 stories Obama doesn't want told
---
Politico (and Yahoo news) once again shows that they are more than happy to promote right-wing talking points in lieu of an actual story with real issues.
The article's title makes it sound like Obama is hiding something whereas everything mentioned in the article is simply conservative opinions and smears.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

she is a living cliche

Palin quits before finishing the 5K Turkey Trot race.

On Wednesday, Sarah Palin excitedly announced on Twitter that she was going to be running a 5K Turkey Trot charity race in Washington state on Thanksgiving day. Large crowds of people turned out to catch Palin at the race, hoping to get the chance to meet the former Alaska governor. Palin, however, quit the race early to avoid many of her fans:

Palin had announced on Twitter that she would be running the 5k race organized by the Benton-Franklin Chapter of the Red Cross.

She didn’t finish the race, opting to leave the course early to avoid more crowds at the end. About 40 minutes into the run, word started trickling out to people gathered at the finish line that she was gone.

Wonkette also points out that Palin said she wasn’t going to be making a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving because it was “too much work.”

(Think Progress)

---

Is she just a comedian in disguise? Cuz she's writing her own material all the time!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Obama working on climate pact

Obama cleaning up

Obama Pushes Lobbyists Off Federal Advisory Boards
(Huffington Post)
---
Gotta admit - that sounds like real change.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

that is an unhealthy combination of crazy there

Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann To Unite For Tea Party-Palooza
(Huffington Post)
---
Jeez, I think any spectator would overdose on the insanity!

what a bizarre world these people live in

Scarborough and Halperin Claim Obama's Poll Numbers Are Down Because He's Too Polarizing
---
From Morning Joe, Nov. 24, 2009, Joe Scarborough and Mark Halperin think Obama's poll numbers have dropped because he's too polarizing. Of course by "polarizing" they mean pretending that he's governed from the left, which he hasn't. They go on to compare him to Palin and say he's only playing to his base like she is. What's up is down and down is up...and round and round we go with these two. Obama's numbers are down because he's ignoring his base and not following through on his campaign promises, not because he’s run too far to the left.
(Crooks and Liars)
---
I don't know how anyone can say that Obama has been too liberal in his governing, but then I guess reality matters to me...

more repug hypocrisy - what a surprise

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

he knows better than to insult his boss

nice of him

bush still affecting our lives

How the recession is affecting Thanksgiving.
(Think Progress)
---
Thanks, bush recession!

as if he would know...

Dick ‘Five Deferments’ Cheney Talks About War From The ‘Perspective’ Of U.S. Troops

In a new interview with right-wing radio host Scott Hennen, Vice President Cheney again criticizes President Obama’s national security policies, harping on his belief that Obama is “dithering” on Afghanistan and endangering U.S. troops. To make his point, Cheney talked about the “perspective” of men and women serving on the front lines:

I worry that there’s a lack of understanding there of what this means from the perspective of the troops. You know, if you’re out there on the line day in and day out and putting your life at risk on a volunteer basis for the nation, and you see the Commander in Chief unable, to or appearing to be unable, to make a decision about the way forward here — you know that raises serious doubts. Nobody wants to think of volunteering to be participate in that kind of operation. [...]

It may in part be inexperience on Obama’s part. It may be that there’s confusion on the staff. But I’m not encouraged by it.
---
Cheney really doesn’t have any more authority on this subject than Obama does. He neither served in the military, nor has he been Commander-in-Chief. As the New York Times noted in 2004:

Eventually, like 16 million other young men of that era, Mr. Cheney sought deferments. By the time he turned 26 in January 1967 and was no longer eligible for the draft, he had asked for and received five deferments, four because he was a student and one for being a new father.

Bush administration officials also seemed to think that they were soldiers in the military, with former White House press secretary Tony Snow saying that President Bush was on the “front lines” and “in the war every day.” In April 2007, First Lady Laura Bush said that “no one suffers more than their President and I do” during wartime, and Bush would speak on behalf of U.S. servicemembers to bolster his policy ideas. “The [military] families gathered here understand that our troops want to finish the job,” Bush said in 2007 during a speech opposing Iraq redeployment.


(Think Progress)

Palin supporters

Tbogg shows us just how uninformed Palin supporters are...

I laughed out loud

Tucker Carlson: Palin More Experienced Than Obama and Smarter Than Al Gore
(Crooks and Liars)
---
C'mon - even her fans don't believe this - and that's why they like her. They want a dumb broad who doesn't know any more than they do so that she'll do the same dumb-ass things that they would do, rather than making rational, intelligent decisions.

Dems not trying for real change will be a problem for them in 2010

Howard Dean: Democrats Are Going to Rue the Day They Didn't Go To Budget Reconciliation to Pass This Bill

Dean: Senate health bill 'watered down':

Former Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Howard Dean said Monday that Senate Democrats' healthcare legislation is so diluted it threatens the party's 2010 chances.

Appearing on MSNBC, the former Vermont governor and outspoken proponent of healthcare reform charged Democrats were "playing with dynamite in terms of dividing the party.”

"The big problem is the policy. This thing has been pretty watered down," Dean said during the interview, noting the House bill was "better" than the "decent" Senate bill. "Right now, it's about as watered down as it can get and still be a real bill. For example, there's really no insurance reform in this bill, already."


(Crooks and Liars)
---
The voters expected the Dems to actually do something substantial and if it doesn't happen, they are gonna be screwed next election. Hardly brain surgery!

something many conservatives seems to have conveniently "forgotten"

life imitating SNL skits

Andrea Mitchell Reminds Michael Steele Palin Quit After He Calls Her a "Successful Governor"
(Crooks and Liars)
---
How can anyone take Steele seriously? I swear he is a walking, talking, live-action SNL skit...

Sanford is in big trouble

kind of obvious, but some people tend to ignore reality

because blatant lies are all they have

not the brightest bulbs on TV

callous repugs

Monday, November 23, 2009

is this the good twin?


That is frightening! There are two of them!!

how do they come up with this nonsense?

Gun Lobby Mobilizes Against Health Reform By Claiming Obama Administration Will Issue ‘No Guns’ Decree
(Think Progress)
---
So now besides being socialism, communism and whatever other ridiculous claims repugs have made, now health care reform is gun control?
WTF?
All that much more amazing since Obama has never made any allusions to any type of policy that would control gun ownership - it's just not on his radar at all. He has more important things to worry about right now, but fear-mongering sells guns, apparently...

and yet there are still deniers

increase in bigoted violence

well, they kinda have to

Schumer: Dems ready to go-it-alone on health care
---
It's not like the repugs are planning on helping in any way, so the Dems don't really have a choice...

Saturday, November 21, 2009

surprised they haven't already done this

I wonder how offended the millions on Medicare and Medicaid are at the repugs

shouldn't have had to even think twice about this

more insanity

New Birther Billboard In Colorado Features Picture Of Obama And Asks ‘President Or Jihad?’
(Think Progress)
---
How quickly would this nonsense have died out if Obama was a republican? Oh, that's right, it would never have gained any traction in the first place, because Democrats aren't insane!

another hurdle passed

Friday, November 20, 2009

yep, done deal...

funny reactions to the most famous quitter in the country

another violent, un-American asshole

New Missouri billboard tells Americans to ‘prepare for war’ against the government.
(Think Progress)
---
Amazing that when bush was truly taking away this country ideals and beliefs, no one spouted anything this incendiary, but conservatives love their violence and anti-American attitudes...

Freudian slip or does he really not know what he is saying?

more Fox lies and craziness

proving they understand reality

but he's a repug, he doesn't need to do as he says

‘Read the stimulus’ advocate Dick Armey slammed for not bothering to read the stimulus.
(Think Progress)
---
But, not reading it or knowing what it says won't stop him from arguing about it for hours on end...
Typical repug...

more sick, right-wing violent rhetoric

New Right-Wing Craze Prays That Obama’s ‘Days Be Few’
(Think Progress)
---
Rachel Maddow talked about this the other night.
These people are so sick and twisted that they must be insane...

WTF?!

Senate health bill restores abstinence-only education funding.
(Think Progress)
---
How are we getting more and more conservative with a supposedly "liberal" (yeah right) president and Congress?
WTF is wrong with these assholes who are cow-towing to the extreme, extreme right instead of doing things to actually help this country?

this made me laugh

ok, that's pretty f'k'd up

Thursday, November 19, 2009

and even more crazy, violent conservatives

still crazy

what happens when you make laws based on bigotry

Fox loves its misrepresentations

sounds good so far - let's see what happens to it

how repugs view fair trials


Wednesday, November 18, 2009

ah, the absurd "war on Xmas" has started

Right-Wing American Family Association Misfires In The War On Christmas
(Think Progress)
---
How many years is this ridiculousness going to continue?
I'm surprised that they weren't embrassed enough the first year to give up this nonsense, but then, I'm reasonably sane...

another disappointment

President Obama “directly acknowledged for the first time” today that the prison at Guantanamo Bay will not close by the January 2010 deadline he set. Saying he was “not disappointed,” Obama “said he hoped to still achieve that goal sometime next year.”

(Think Progress)
---
Obama needs to start taking care of some of these promises sooner rather than later if he wants to retain his popularity....

repugs love their bigotry

palin denies the climate change that is affecting her state more than most

I guess even he's realistic enough to know how ridiculous this is

wow - could you think of a crazier and less experienced team?!

Palin-Beck 2012?
(Think Progress)
---
And the most frightening thing is that some loonies would actually vote for these maniacs!

I don't care if this is supposed to be a "joke" - this is crazy

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

wow, this guy in nutz

WTF?

O'Reilly admitting what we've known for years

and still more crazy, violent repug fantasies

Mukasey: Rep. Moran Has ‘Lost Touch With Reality’ And Should ‘Get Professional Help’ From Major Nidal Hasan
(Think Progress)
---
Man, how sick and twisted are these fucks?
What ever happened to having a civil disagreement without resorting to violent rhetoric?

gee, ya think?

Report: Homosexuality no factor in abusive priests
---
Just because there is no known correlation between homosexuality and paedophilia?
What a surprise!

what ISN'T she angry about?

Palin angered by 'sexist' Newsweek cover
---
Her entire MO is to just piss and moan about every little thing - such as this picture that she voluntarily posed for - and claim that everything she doesn't like is due to "liberal bias".
You would think that people would get tired of this constant negativism, but what do I know...

Monday, November 16, 2009

palin pissed that someone fact-checked her book

but O'Reilly is not afraid of continuing his calls for violence

O’Reilly warns of a coming ‘tax revolt’: ‘Pelosi will be bobbing up and down in the Boston Harbor.’
(Think Progress)
---
He really has not shame, does he? Even after encouraging the murder of a doctor, he still promotes extreme violence.
F'k'in' sicko...

crazy Teabaggers re-think their proposed violent actions

OOPS!

A retraction, and an apology to Mark Shields.
Yesterday, ThinkProgress reported that syndicated columnist Mark Shields said this weekend on Inside Washington, referring to Obama’s Afghanistan war decision, that he is “nostalgic” for the days when the U.S. “had a manly man in the White House who could say, ‘Let’s kick some tail and ask questions afterwards.’” Shields contacted ThinkProgress this morning and kindly informed us that his comments were intended to be sarcastic. We regret our error in misinterpreting his comments and for questioning his motives. Shields told us that his comments were meant to disparage those who consistently argue that more war will solve America’s problems and that his statement was directed at co-panelist and right-wing neoconservative Charles Krauthammer, who, according to Shields, was displeased with the remark. With a deeper appreciation for his wit, we extend our sincere apologies to Mr. Shields.

---

Shields: I’m ‘Nostalgic’ For A ‘Manly Man’ President Who Will ‘Kick Some Tail And Ask Questions Afterwards’
(Think Progress)
---
The rest of the world certainly does not share this sick and twisted nostalgia!

no idea why Obama is still stalling on this no-brainer

and more on obstructionist repugs

“Despite a solid Democratic majority in the Senate, Obama is on pace to set a record for the fewest judges confirmed during a president’s first year in the White House.” So far, only six of Obama’s nominees to the lower federal courts have won approval, while President George W. Bush had 28 judges confirmed and President Clinton had 27 confirmed in their respective first years in office.

(Think Progress)

Sunday, November 15, 2009

cuz he's so popular!

Liz Cheney floats her father Dick as potential 2012 presidential candidate.
(Think Progress)
---
Not that anyone would vote for him, but who would want to return to that administration and its policies!? Utterly frightening!

more on palin's book

McCain Campaign Emails Contradict Palin's "Going Rogue"
---
Sarah Palin "Going Rogue": The Wit & Wisdom (Or Lack Thereof)
---
(Huffington Post)
---
And, hardly a surprise:
Report: In her memoir, Palin says she doesn’t believe in evolution.
(Think Progress)
---
Really - shouldn't there be IQ tests for public servants?
And lots more from Crooks and Liars:
Going Rogue...From The Facts
---
And, showing that she is an incredible whiner:
In book full of complaints, Palin writes: "I don't like to hear people complain"

(Media Matters)
---
And, her "co-author" is a real piece of work, too:
Palin co-author Lynn Vincent's inflammatory record
(Media Matters)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

showing how mindlessly clueless they are

but will he share the apparently secret evidence that has "convinced" him of this?

more unabashed repug hypocrisy

because hawks love war more than they love the American people

Why Are Hawkish Lawmakers Willing To Pay For An Escalation Of The War But Not For Health Care?

In recent days, heated policy discussions in Washington have largely focused on two topics: a possible escalation of the war in Afghanistan and health care legislation. Both a troop escalation and health care legislation carry significant price tags: roughly $100 billion and $80-$100 billion a year respectively. (It should be noted that health care reform, unlike a troop surge, would cut the deficit.)

In his New York Times column today, columnist Nicholas Kristof asks why hawks claim health reform is “fiscally irresponsible” while enthusiastically supporting a troop surge in Afghanistan, given the fact that fixing our broken health care system is, unlike a troop surge, essential to the health and well-being of Americans:

The health care legislation pays for itself, according to the Congressional Budget Office, while the deployment in Afghanistan is unfinanced and will raise our budget deficits and undermine our long-term economic security.

So doesn’t it seem odd to hear hawks say that health reform is fiscally irresponsible, while in the next breath they cheer a larger deployment of troops in Afghanistan?

Meanwhile, lack of health insurance kills about 45,000 Americans a year, according to a Harvard study released in September. So which is the greater danger to our homeland security, the Taliban or our dysfunctional insurance system?

Indeed, hawkish legislators have lined up to both demand a costly surge in U.S. troops in Afghanistan while at the same time claiming that deficit-cutting health care legislation would simply be too expensive:

Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) has called for providing the “resources [needed]” for a “significant increase in U.S. forces” while warning that he is “really worried about what [health care reform] would do to the deficit.” [9/13/09, 10/26/09]

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has complained that passing health care legislation would “expand government spending even more,” while also boasting of his Republican caucus’s “broad support” for any troop increase in Afghanistan. [10/21/09, 10/11/09]

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) wrote a letter to President Obama stating that we “urgently need more resources” in Afghanistan, “including more combat troops,” while at the same time claiming that passing health care legislation would be tantamount to “generational theft” that would run up “unconscionable and unsustainable deficits.” [11/10/09, 8/27/09]

Kristof’s question bears answering. Why is it that hawkish lawmakers are so willing to spend such enormous resources in both lives and treasure on a troop surge in Afghanistan that is increasingly opposed by Americans and Afghans, but are so quick to bark at the price tag of health care legislation that could save the lives of the 45,000 Americans who die every year because they don’t have access to health care? As Glenn Greenwald notes, “Urging that more Americans be sent into endless war paid for with endless debt, while yawning and lazily waving away with boredom the hordes outside dying for lack of health care coverage, is one of the most repugnant images one can imagine.”

(Think Progress)

really sick and disturbing

Cao proving to be a reasonable and truthful republican

Cao: Obama Administration ‘Has Been Tremendous’ For New Orleans On Katrina Recovery Effort
(Think Progress)
---
I am amazed that some repugs are daring to criticize Obama for his short visit to the area after bush waited almost a week before even responding to the hurricane at all, much less making his photo-op stop there. Do they really think that no one remembers this?

more on repugs redefining words

Rick Perry Caters To The Far Right: Obama Is ‘Interested In Punishing Texas’ And ‘Hellbent’ On Socialism
(Think Progress)
---
I guess that "punishing" now means giving millions of dollars in aid and "socialism" now means bipartisan democracy!

more craziness

Rep. Steve King calls Obama administration the ‘gangster government.’
(Think Progress)
---
They spout all this insane rhetoric, but what do they think this is based on? Obama hasn't done much and certainly hasn't done anything radical in any way, shape or form since he took office. He hasn't even lived up to most of his campaign promises, much less gone on to do something unusual or extreme. He is only extreme in his centralism and attempts at bipartisanship, no matter what the costs to his own ideals.

I think that a majority of the American public wishes that Obama was a little more "radical" and actually did the things he was voted in to do.

But, man, if the repugs are spouting this kind of insane rhetoric in the face of centralism and bipartisanship, what would they say if Obama actually embraced some liberal ideals?!

showing again what repugs think of bipartisanship

how is this even a story anymore?

Republican bashes Dems over health care proposals
---
That's all that the repugs do! How can this still be considered news?

palin doesn't care about truth

FACT CHECK: Palin's book goes rogue on some facts

WASHINGTON – Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over time.

Ignoring substantial parts of her record if not the facts, she depicts herself as a frugal traveler on the taxpayer's dime, a reformer without ties to powerful interests and a politician roguishly indifferent to high ambition.

Palin goes adrift, at times, on more contemporary issues, too. She criticizes President Barack Obama for pushing through a bailout package that actually was achieved by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush — a package she seemed to support at the time.

A look at some of her statements in "Going Rogue," obtained by The Associated Press in advance of its release Tuesday:

___

PALIN: Says she made frugality a point when traveling on state business as Alaska governor, asking "only" for reasonably priced rooms and not "often" going for the "high-end, robe-and-slippers" hotels.

THE FACTS: Although travel records indicate she usually opted for less-pricey hotels while governor, Palin and daughter Bristol stayed five days and four nights at the $707.29-per-night Essex House luxury hotel (robes and slippers come standard) overlooking New York City's Central Park for a five-hour women's leadership conference in October 2007. With air fare, the cost to Alaska was well over $3,000. Event organizers said Palin asked if she could bring her daughter. The governor billed her state more than $20,000 for her children's travel, including to events where they had not been invited, and in some cases later amended expense reports to specify that they had been on official business.

___

PALIN: Boasts that she ran her campaign for governor on small donations, mostly from first-time givers, and turned back large checks from big donors if her campaign perceived a conflict of interest.

THE FACTS: Of the roughly $1.3 million she raised for her primary and general election campaigns for governor, more than half came from people and political action committees giving at least $500, according to an AP analysis of her campaign finance reports. The maximum that individual donors could give was $1,000; $2,000 for a PAC.

Of the rest, about $76,000 came from Republican Party committees.

She accepted $1,000 each from a state senator and his wife in the weeks after the two Republican lawmakers' offices were raided by the FBI as part of an investigation into a powerful Alaska oilfield services company. After AP reported those donations during the presidential campaign, she said she would give a comparative sum to charity after the general election in 2010, a date set by state election laws.

___

PALIN: Rails against taxpayer-financed bailouts, which she attributes to Obama. She recounts telling daughter Bristol that to succeed in business, "you'll have to be brave enough to fail."

THE FACTS: Palin is blurring the lines between Obama's stimulus plan — a $787 billion package of tax cuts, state aid, social programs and government contracts — and the federal bailout that Republican presidential candidate John McCain voted for and President George W. Bush signed.

Palin's views on bailouts appeared to evolve as McCain's vice presidential running mate. In September 2008, she said "taxpayers cannot be looked to as the bailout, as the solution, to the problems on Wall Street." A week later, she said "ultimately what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy."

During the vice presidential debate in October, Palin praised McCain for being "instrumental in bringing folks together" to pass the $700 billion bailout. After that, she said "it is a time of crisis and government did have to step in."

___

PALIN: Says Ronald Reagan faced an even worse recession than the one that appears to be ending now, and "showed us how to get out of one. If you want real job growth, cut capital gains taxes and slay the death tax once and for all."

THE FACTS: The estate tax, which some call the death tax, was not repealed under Reagan and capital gains taxes are lower now than when Reagan was president.

Economists overwhelmingly say the current recession is far worse. The recession Reagan faced lasted for 16 months; this one is in its 23rd month. The recession of the early 1980s did not have a financial meltdown. Unemployment peaked at 10.8 percent, worse than the October 2009 high of 10.2 percent, but the jobless rate is still expected to climb.

___

PALIN: She says her team overseeing the development of a natural gas pipeline set up an open, competitive bidding process that allowed any company to compete for the right to build a 1,715-mile pipeline to bring natural gas from Alaska to the Lower 48.

THE FACTS: Palin characterized the pipeline deal the same way before an AP investigation found her team crafted terms that favored only a few independent pipeline companies and ultimately benefited a company with ties to her administration, TransCanada Corp. Despite promises and legal guidance not to talk directly with potential bidders during the process, Palin had meetings or phone calls with nearly every major candidate, including TransCanada.

___

PALIN: Criticizes an aide to her predecessor, Gov. Frank Murkowski, for a conflict of interest because the aide represented the state in negotiations over a gas pipeline and then left to work as a handsomely paid lobbyist for ExxonMobil. Palin asserts her administration ended all such arrangements, shoving a wedge in the revolving door between special interests and the state capital.

THE FACTS: Palin ignores her own "revolving door" issue in office; the leader of her own pipeline team was a former lobbyist for a subsidiary of TransCanada, the company that ended up winning the rights to build the pipeline.

___

PALIN: Writes about a city councilman in Wasilla, Alaska, who owned a garbage truck company and tried to push through an ordinance requiring residents of new subdivisions to pay for trash removal instead of taking it to the dump for free — this to illustrate conflicts of interest she stood against as a public servant.

THE FACTS: As Wasilla mayor, Palin pressed for a special zoning exception so she could sell her family's $327,000 house, then did not keep a promise to remove a potential fire hazard on the property.

She asked the city council to loosen rules for snow machine races when she and her husband owned a snow machine store, and cast a tie-breaking vote to exempt taxes on aircraft when her father-in-law owned one. But she stepped away from the table in 1997 when the council considered a grant for the Iron Dog snow machine race in which her husband competes.

___

PALIN: Says Obama has admitted that the climate change policy he seeks will cause people's electricity bills to "skyrocket."

THE FACTS: She correctly quotes a comment attributed to Obama in January 2008, when he told San Francisco Chronicle editors that under his cap-and-trade climate proposal, "electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket" as utilities are forced to retrofit coal burning power plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Obama has argued since then that climate legislation can blunt the cost to consumers. Democratic legislation now before Congress calls for a variety of measures aimed at mitigating consumer costs. Several studies predict average household costs probably would be $100 to $145 a year.

___

PALIN: Welcomes last year's Supreme Court decision deciding punitive damages for victims of the nation's largest oil spill tragedy, the Exxon Valdez disaster, stating it had taken 20 years to achieve victory. As governor, she says, she'd had the state argue in favor of the victims, and she says the court's ruling went "in favor of the people." Finally, she writes, Alaskans could recover some of their losses.

THE FACTS: That response is at odds with her reaction at the time to the ruling, which resolved the long-running case by reducing punitive damages for victims to $500 million from $2.5 billion. Environmentalists and plaintiffs' lawyers decried the ruling as a slap at the victims and Palin herself said she was "extremely disappointed." She said the justices had gutted a jury decision favoring higher damage awards, the Anchorage Daily News reported. "It's tragic that so many Alaska fishermen and their families have had their lives put on hold waiting for this decision," she said, noting many had died "while waiting for justice."

___

PALIN: Describing her resistance to federal stimulus money, Palin describes Alaska as a practical, libertarian haven of independent Americans who don't want "help" from government busybodies.

THE FACTS: Alaska is also one of the states most dependent on federal subsidies, receiving much more assistance from Washington than it pays in federal taxes. A study for the nonpartisan Tax Foundation found that in 2005, the state received $1.84 for every dollar it sent to Washington.

___

PALIN: Says she tried to talk about national security and energy independence in her interview with Vogue magazine but the interviewer wanted her to pivot from hydropower to high fashion.

THE FACTS are somewhat in dispute. Vogue contributing editor Rebecca Johnson said Palin did not go on about hydropower. "She just kept talking about drilling for oil."

___

PALIN: "Was it ambition? I didn't think so. Ambition drives; purpose beckons." Throughout the book, Palin cites altruistic reasons for running for office, and for leaving early as Alaska governor.

THE FACTS: Few politicians own up to wanting high office for the power and prestige of it, and in this respect, Palin fits the conventional mold. But "Going Rogue" has all the characteristics of a pre-campaign manifesto, the requisite autobiography of the future candidate.

---

Wow! And all of that is from an advance copy! Wait until people start tearing apart the actual release!

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

WTF is wrong with people?

Marine reservist chases, assaults Greek Orthodox priest who he mistook for an Arab terrorist.

Alexios Marakis, a Greek Orthodox priest visiting the U.S., got lost in Tampa and tried to stop and ask directions from Marine reservist Jasen D. Bruce. But instead of offering help, “Bruce struck the priest on the head with a tire iron.” The reservist believed Marakis, who spoke limited English, was an Arab terrorist. Bruce chased the priest for three blocks, “and even called 911 to say that an Arabic man tried to rob him.” According to a news release:

“During the chase, the suspect called 911 and claimed an Arabic male attempted to rob him and he was going to take him into custody,” a Tampa Police Department news release states. “When officers arrived, the suspect claimed the man was a terrorist.”

Police arrested Bruce for “aggravated battery with a deadly weapon” and are investigating whether he committed a hate crime.


(Think Progress)
---
I hope this violent asshole is locked away - if for nothing else, for being a bigoted jackass who can't tell a freakin' Greek from an Arab!
Gawddam fuckhead...

sickening

wow - a little bit of truth on Fox

using tragedy to bolster bigotry

once again showing that the repugs don't care for Veterans

when the repugs are crazy enough for ya

if more repugs voted in lines with the people instead of the party, this country would be in a lot better shape

jeez, I hope so

they'll always try to go lower and lower

I guess that she didn't notice that this happened years ago - under bush

Sarah Palin Floats 'In God We Trust' Coin Conspiracy
(Huffington Post)
---
Of course, legally and Constitutionally, this shouldn't be on our money, but that's a whole 'nother deal.

Sunday, November 08, 2009

not living in our reality

Rep. Steve King: All Americans Have Health Care and Health Care Bill Will "Steal Our Freedom"
(Crooks and Liars)
---
Obviously, the first part is a ridiculous and absurd lie, but how the hell is health care for all going to "steal our freedom"?!
Such imagination!

Saturday, November 07, 2009

really hilarious

one step closer to some kind of change

House narrowly passes landmark health care bill

WASHINGTON – In a victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House narrowly passed landmark health care legislation Saturday night to expand coverage to tens of millions who lack it and place tough new restrictions on the insurance industry. Republican opposition was nearly unanimous.

The 220-215 vote cleared the way for the Senate to begin debate on the issue that has come to overshadow all others in Congress.

---

We'll see how much more it is watered down before the Senate passes anything...

More from Think Progress:
House Passes Historic, Bipartisan Health Reform Legislation
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the party of "no" and "no ideas" add to that: "no civility"

GOP Gone Wild: Unruly Republicans Silence Women Lawmakers With Screams, Shouts, And Delay Tactics

This morning, the House began consideration of the rule for debate of the House health care bill. As the Democratic Women’s Caucus took to the microphone on the House floor to offer their arguments for how the bill would benefit women, House Republicans — led by Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) — repeatedly talked over, screamed, and shouted objections. “I object, I object, I object, I object, I object,” Price interjected as Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA) tried to hold the floor.

In an effort to delay and derail the proceedings, the Republicans continually talked over the Democratic women for half an hour. They sought to prevent the debate by calling for unnecessary “parliamentary inquiries” and requests for “expanding the debate” by an hour.

After being repeatedly interrupted by Republican shouts, Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH) observed:

Do I not have the right to be able to continue my sentence without objections that are trying to censor my remarks here on the floor that I have a right to make as a member of this House?

(Think Progress)
---
Of course, they can't argue the merits of anything being discussed, so they simply follow the teabaggers lead and disrupt and censor so that no one can learn any facts.
Guess that what happens when you know you're in the wrong and no one agrees with your position.

once again showing that repugs have no sense of humor

O’Reilly Goes After Sesame Street: ‘We May Have To Ambush Oscar’
(Think Progress)
---
They are worried about a Sesame Street episode from two years ago that equally skewered many other newspeople besides making an offhand comment regarding Fox.
The repugs really have a martyr complex, don't they?

good stuff

Tom Tancredo storms off the set of MSNBC during debate with DailyKos’ Markos Moulitsas.

Today on the Ed Show, former Republican congressman Tom Tancredo tried to argue that all veterans are unhappy with their health care under the Veterans Administration — as proof of why government-run care doesn’t work:

Every veterans group I ever went and talked to complained about the Veterans Administration and the way it was a bureaucratically-run program that didn’t serve their needs. They would much rather have vouchers that would let them go out and buy their insurance in a private marketplace.

When the other guest on the program, DailyKos founder Markos Moulitsas, started laughing, Tancredo replied, “You’re laughing, but talk to the veterans. They talk to me, and that’s why they said.” Markos then informed Tancredo that he actually is a veteran, adding, “I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight in a war that I supported in Vietnam. I’m a veteran, Tom.” Tancredo became incensed at Markos, calling his comment “stupid” and demanding that he apologize. When he didn’t, Tancredo stormed off the set.
---
As Markos noted, Tancredo was eligible to serve in Vietnam and was a supporter of the war, but received a deferment after “he went for his physical, telling doctors he’d been treated for depression.” After Tancredo left, Markos went on to say that Republicans are “terrified of government programs that work” because it threatens the myths they have built up.

(Think Progress)
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We need more people like this on TV that will stand up to lying repugs and call them on their bullshit.
Great job!

you can say anything you want, but actions speak louder

Rep. Foxx: ‘All of us want all Americans to have health insurance and access to good health care.’
(Think Progress)
---
It's hard to make that assumption when repugs have blocked every attempt at any reform.

understandable and only surprising that they haven't spoken up before now

Jewish Organizations Condemn GOP For Standing By As Tea Party Protesters Waved ‘Vile’ Anti-Semitic Signs
(Think Progress)
---
I know that everyone seems to compare everything that they don't like to the Nazis (I know of someone who compared a Homeowners' Association request that people follow the rules of the HOA that they agreed to when buying their house to the Nazis!), but it doesn't make it any less offensive.
People need to speak out against this more.

a repug "solution"

Pence: ‘We Actually Do Deal With Pre-Existing Conditions’ In The GOP Health Bill
---

As Roll Call reported, Republicans “deal” with Americans with pre-existing conditions by forcing them into expensive high-risk pools:

And states would be eligible for a total of $15 billion [in federal funds] over the next 10 years in aid for creating high-risk pools for people whom private insurance companies refuse to cover because of pre-existing health conditions.

People with pre-existing conditions would pay up to 50 percent more than average for insurance coverage under the plan. States would have to cover the rest of the tab with a “stable funding source,” although the modest federal subsidy would cover a portion of the cost.

Most states already have such plans, which typically are much more expensive than regular insurance and have not made much of a dent in the ranks of the uninsured.

Even worse, high-risk pools would be able to deny coverage for pre-existing conditions that made people eligible in the first place. So people would be forced into the pools because of their pre-existing conditions, but the pools wouldn’t pay for treatment of that condition. President Obama and the Senate Finance Committee have also supported increased funding for high-risk pools, but only as a stop gap until 2013, when insurers would be prohibited from denying people coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

(Think Progress)

---

This is the repugs version of a "solution", which, once again, helps the insurance companies far more than the American public.

Sickening...

more concessions to conservatives on health care

Obama appeals for health care votes

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama made a last-minute personal appeal to Democrats to pass landmark health care legislation Saturday as the House opened debate on a bill to expand coverage to millions of the uninsured.

Emerging from a closed-door meeting with the president, Speaker Nancy Pelosi predicted passage of the bill later in the day, adding, "We will pass health care reform."

---

Obama made his trip to the Capitol complex as abortion rights lawmakers voiced anger at a last-minute concession granted to foes of the procedure, who were given a vote on their proposal for stronger restrictions on abortion coverage.

"There is a risk" that some in the Pro-Choice Caucus would vote against the legislation if the stricter curbs are adopted, said Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

The bill would cost $1.2 trillion over the next decade. It would provide health coverage to tens of millions of Americans who don't have it now, require most employers to offer it to their workers and prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on a person's medical history.

---

Republicans were united in their opposition to the bill.

"The American people need to understand this is about a government takeover of the whole health care system," said Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga.

----

No matter what happens, the repugs are going to oppose this bill, but they (and conservative Dems) are going to water down the bill so much that it won't be nearly as effective as anyone had planned, so the repugs can later say that the bill didn't do as much as was initially claimed. And, of course, at that time, no one in the media will point out that the bill isn't as effective because the repugs opposed everything every step of the way and they will just echo the repugs' talking points and say that the repugs could've done a better job and no one will mention that the repugs didn't try to create a health care plan and life will go on as usual in America...

Damn, politics are disillusioning...

I wonder if we'll even get this weak, so-called "reform" passed...I have no faith in anyone anymore...

Friday, November 06, 2009

repugs never let truth get in the way of a good smear

they person who planned and promoted the anti-health-care rally says that it wasn't planned or promoted!

Bachmann Claims Anti-Health Reform Rally Was ‘Organic,’ ‘Nothing That We Planned’
(Think Progress)
---
Wow - does she think that they people who she told to go to this rally are going to forget that she told them to go there?
Just how stupid does she think her followers are?
Damn, repugs are incredibly insulting to their own people!

they're not so bad when they're helping you

Government health care rescues protesters at anti-government health care rally.

---
By the end of the day, “medics had administered government-run health care to at least five people in the crowd who were stricken as they denounced government-run health care.”

(Think Progress)

it's easy to demonize people until you need them

proving once again that repugs don't care about the troops

and it would serve them right

disgusting displays at anti-health care rally

because the repugs don't care about people

it doesn't matter what they are given - they will still bitch and moan about it

Conservatives Mock 72-Hour Window That They Requested To Review Health Care Reform Legislation
(Think Progress)
---
Which is why Dems have to stop making so many concessions to the freakin' repugs - they will piss all over the Dems no matter what they get. It's really pointless...

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

getting around repug obstructionism

how sadly pathetic is this?

Rep. Joe ‘You lie!’ Wilson: I needed to look up ‘dithering’ in the dictionary, but I still agree with Cheney.
(Think Progress)
---
He really wanted to admit publicly that his vocabulary is that bad?

repugs making it obvious who they are looking out for

wow - can you imagine?

George W. Bush To Debate Bill Clinton
(Huffington Post)
---
That should be interesting! A moron who can barely string a coherent sentence together and a greaet public speaker like Clinton. I almost feel sorry for bush...

sickening - the bigots win again

Defeat in Maine a harsh blow to gay-marriage drive
---
This literally turns my stomach. When will this country embrace equal rights for all?

oh that "liberal media"

White House: Tuesday's GOP wins not about Obama

WASHINGTON – The White House says that Republican wins in two governors' races were not referendums on the president.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters Wednesday that voters went to the polls in Virginia and New Jersey to work through "very local issues that didn't involve the president." The presidential spokesman said voters were concerned about the economy.

"I don't think the president needed an election or an exit poll to come to that conclusion," Gibbs said.

By contrast, Gibbs acknowledged that the 2010 midterm congressional elections will be more about the Obama agenda.

Republicans turned aside Democratic candidates in both Virginia and New Jersey, raising questions about the limits of the president's influence on his party's base of support and on the moderate lawmakers he needs to advance his legislative priorities.

Gibbs noted that Democrats did win two special elections for congressional seats, in California and New York.


---

Isn't it "funny" that two losses take up the first 5 paragraphs and the 6th paragraph very offhandly mentions (via Gibbs) that the Dems won the two most hottly contested elections in the country - including the NY 23rd that has been the big media story up until now, when suddenly it is no longer interesting because a Dem won - for the first time in a century.

I thought maybe the extreme conservatism of the media was strictly due to bush and his fear-mongering (no journalist wanted to be labeled a terrorist sympathizer!), but even with a confirmed moderate like Obama in the White House, we can't even get a reasonable balance to the reporting.

More from Think Progress:

In New York’s 23rd congressional district, Bill Owens scored a historic victory by becoming the first Democrat to carry the district since the mid-19th century. In California, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, who “never retreated from his support of progressive policies” during the campaign, easily won a special election.

---

And, a good reason why the Dem lost in Virginia, also from Think Progress:

Creigh Deeds Failed To Run As A Progressive

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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

bigot admits that someone's gay marriage is better than their straight marriage, but they still shouldn't be married!

repug voter intimidation

more Beck lunacy

ah, that famous "liberal media"

sweet

During D.C. hearing on same-sex marriage, witness interrupts by proposing to his partner.
(Think Progress)
---
Hopefully, they will get their equal rights eventually...

Bachmann crazier than ever and not even trying to make sense

Fox’s Gretchen Carlson Helps Promote Her Former Nanny’s Health Care Protest

---
This morning, the pair reunited on-air as Carlson teed up a couple of softball questions, allowing her former nanny to talk at length about her upcoming corporate-sponsored health care protest this Thursday on Capitol Hill.

During the Fox infomercial “interview,” Bachmann employed her usual colorful, over-the-top commentary to decry health reform. The health care vote is the “Super Bowl of freedom,” she said, and voters must mobilize to defeat the Democrats’ “crown jewel of socialism.”
---
Bachmann urged “real freedom-loving Americans come here to Washington” on Thursday, and “look at the whites of their eyes of their members of Congress and say, ‘don’t you remember? I told you don’t take away my health care.’”

As Rachel Maddow observed last night, this is the “rhetoric of revolutionary violence.” “The ‘whites of your eyes’ reference is that you’re supposed to wait and see the whites of someone’s eyes before you shoot at them,” Maddow noted. “That’s where we get that phrase from — from when to shoot at people.”


(Think Progress)
---
Wait a minute, so the point of this anti-health-care-reform protest is to tell Congress "I told you don't take away my health care"?! Huh?
Protesting against expanding health coverage for all Americans is now somehow equivalent to taking it away? Wha...?
Seriously - are they even trying to make sense any more?
Also, nice touch of violent rhetoric - where would the repugs be without that these days?